by John Dowd
Though the snow may have been lacking this winter, area locals can expect an excess of youth opportunities this spring. Two organizations based in Ravalli county have upcoming events packed with opportunities for youth outdoor education.
The Teller Wildlife Refuge and Montana Matters Youth Outdoor Experience are both planning outdoor conservation and recreation gatherings. The two have done this nearly every year since 2013, when they started their events together. The events have shared the event at the same place and on the same day until confusion a year ago, when they split. Although this year they will stay separate, they plan on coming back together next year, at the refuge.
The first of the two events, hosted by Montana Matters Youth Outdoor Experience, will take place May 4, at the Fairgrounds in Hamilton. It will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The event, sponsored by Montana Conservation Elders, will draw over 40 organizations to participate. These organizations will range from conservation groups like Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to numerous summer camp programs, which are the true stars of the show. The event’s purpose is to help the organizations get as many kids into camps as they can, and to spread awareness of these opportunities to youth in the valley.
During the event, participating youth and their families will travel around the event area visiting booths set up by all the organizations, and the camps. At each event booth, they will have hosts sign off on a sheet they carry around with them. If the youth get at least 12 event booths to sign, they can put their information in for a raffle drawing for their favorite camp. If drawn, they will get a guaranteed and sponsored spot in that camp.
Montana Matters Youth Outdoor Experience, in partnership with Montana Conservation Elders and First Hunt Foundation, will sponsor up to 150 kids to go to camp. The camp representatives attending will each set up their own booth to talk to visitors about their programs and opportunities. The camps are all between 1 to 5 days, and reach kids between the ages of seven and 18, depending on the camp.
These camps range in scope from archery, Glacier National Park visits, outdoor skills, fishing, hiking, hunting and conservation to horse packing and much more. Organizers Fred Upchurch and Tom Powers highlighted some of the camps that will be represented.
One of these is Project ASCENT, a youth program for ages 12 to 15 that does a number of activities during their camps, including a 20-mile pack trip down the Flathead River, rock climbing and backpacking. Another is Trout Unlimited, which teaches fly fishing for youth during the summer at Georgetown Lake for 20 students between 11 and 14 years old. These are just two of dozens of youth summer adventure opportunities.
Though most of these camps only accept a limited age range, people of any age can attend the event. In fact, Powers and Upchurch encourage everyone to attend the family event. There will be numerous educational activities, giveaways and more.
If the weather permits, the event will have Mrs. Montana fly over the fairgrounds and possibly jumpers dive out with flags and parachute down. This was planned for the event last year, but the weather did not allow it. The event will also include two climbing walls, the Forest Service’s 9-Mile pack string of mules with a packing demonstration, food available for purchase and much more. The Montana Matters Youth Outdoor Experience event is free to attend.
The second event will be the Youth Conservation and Education Expo which will take place at the Teller Wildlife Refuge on May 18, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. According to Nicole Ballard, the conservation education director for Teller Wildlife Refuge, their event will draw over 30 different conservation and recreation groups. The groups will host various activities, including topics on everything from archery to wildlife.
There will be several 20- to 60-minute presentations that will include live wildlife, bear dog demonstrations, nature journaling, duck calling and more. The event will also include a fire truck, trout pond, climbing wall, archery station, pack mules and food trucks. There will be a raffle, where each organization donated a conservation- or recreation-themed item. Youth participants will get 10 tickets to enter into any item raffle they want, to be drawn at the end of the event.
The Teller Wildlife Refuge event will be free to attend, and families are encouraged to explore together. There will be a bus running from the fairgrounds to the refuge, and back, every half hour, starting in Hamilton at 10:30 a.m. The bus leaves the refuge on the hour, running until 3 p.m. When the event ends it will take participants back to Hamilton.
Though there will be cross-over as far as some of the opportunities and organizations at both events, each one specializes in certain areas. Organizers encourage the community to visit both. Ballard described them, saying, “Ours is more about creating an experience on the day to expose them to conservation and recreation.” According to Ballard, the goal of the other is to fill camps at future dates, while simultaneously granting education experiences, while the Teller’s event works more heavily on education and experiences on the day-of.
When asked about why they do what they do, organizers spoke about their passion for the outdoors, and how they believe that passion affected them in a positive way throughout life. According to Upchurch, one of the reasons he is so excited about what they do is, “I was lucky enough to enjoy all this, so it’s time for me to give back.” For him, it is important that youth learn to become “comfortable using all these gorgeous resources,” and to know how to do it with a conscience and with sustainability in mind.
According to Powers, “The goal of Montana Conservation Elders is to get our youth engaged in outdoor fun and recreation that explores Montana’s beautiful public lands and wildlife. We strive to teach the glorious history of conservation in our state.” Powers said he “did not have these opportunities growing up. These are great camps for these kids!”
Finally, Ballard, who has been in her current position with the refuge since 2021, expressed that, though she only recently got into this type of work, it has been a great fit. She got a degree in wildlife biology and wanted to work with wildlife in order to conserve it. However, in her current position, she has discovered that in “shifting from working with wildlife directly to working with future generations,” she has been able to effect conservation in a much greater capacity. For her, the point of these events is to introduce kids to these opportunities.
For more information on the Montana Matters Youth Outdoor Experience, interested parties can visit the Montana Conservation Elders website, mtconservationelders.org. For information about the Teller Wildlife Refuge and their upcoming event, interested parties can visit tellerwildlife.org.